One of the few newspapers to write, direct and produce a feature-length documentary, the San Francisco Chronicle, Northern California's largest newspaper, will debut its first film, Last Men Standing, April 8 at the Castro Theatre. The documentary, which follows the lives and experiences of eight long-term AIDS survivors, is part of a larger special report featuring interactive digital and print features by Chronicle reporter Erin Allday.
Software developer SGO and video hardware developer AJA Video Systems have announced that SGO's flagship color grading and finishing post-production system Mistika is now fully compatible with AJA's line of Kona and Corvid video capture and playback cards. The result, the companies say, is optimized video output. The combination of the new Mistika version with the AJA hardware boosts support for video formats including 4K stereo 3D dual-link, even at HFR frame-rates up to 60p.
Panasonic has announced a number of cost-saving camera kit packages for the recently unveiled VariCam LT Super 35mm Cinema Camera, which begins shipping later this month. In addition, Panasonic has announced a 40-price reduction in the cost of expressP2 cards, the media used for recording on the VariCam LT and VariCam 35 cinema cameras as well as the VariCam HS action camera.
Technicolor has announced that acclaimed sound designer and feature film supervising sound editor Scott Gershin has joined Technicolor as director of sound editorial. Gershin will lead the company’s expansion into sound design for gaming and immersive experiences and will also continue to design and supervise sound for films.
QuVis Technologies has released the Ovation II DCP player 2.1, which the company says is the first player capable of supporting 4K playback in a small form factor and at an affordable price. QuVis spokesman Keith Doughty says the Ovation II is expected to ease the challenges faced by independent film festival organizers for playback and screening. It can also provide a platform for independent film producers to efficiently and effectively test their DCPs before showing them on the big screen.
The Bollywood feature Dishoom has wrapped in Abu Dhabi after six weeks of filming facilitated by twofour54. With a final count of 38 filming days, Dishoom is Abu Dhabi’s longest feature filming project to date and is due for release in July this year. The cast and crew arrived in Abu Dhabi in January to begin a non-stop schedule of filming at 30 different locations including Ferrari World, Nurai Island, Emirates Palace, Yas Waterworld, Sheikh Zayed Stadium and Liwa Dessert, with the final scenes shot yesterday on Reem Island. In February, Sajid Nadiadwala, owner of Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment and executive producer of Dishoom, visited the set and praised the diversity of locations that Abu Dhabi offered.
The Motion Picture Sound Editors presented the 63rd MPSE Golden Reel Awards at a black-tie ceremony Saturday evening at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. Golden Reel Awards recognizing outstanding achievement in sound editing were presented in 24 categories encompassing feature films, long-form and short-form television, animation, documentaries and other media. Re-recording mixer Marti Humphrey and sound designer/supervising sound editor Jussi Tegelman presented the annual MPSE Filmmaker Award to director Sam Raimi. Picture editor Lee Smith and re-recording Mmxer Doug Hemphill presented the Career Achievement Award to supervising sound editor and sound designer Richard King.
Japanese video production service company Assist Corporation is one of the first in the world to install Iris 2.0 from GrayMeta. Reona Kobayashi, Assist’s director of engineering said, “Technology in the Japanese television and film industries moves quickly, and upgrading to Iris 2.0 is keeping us ahead of the trends.”
This Sunday, movie fans around the world will turn their attention to the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood to see who the winners of the 88th Academy Awards will be. Meanwhile, the people who run a new website are betting they already know. Billing themselves as the “newest online source for unbiased gambling, reviews and information,” OnlineGambling.lv has posted odds on what to expect for the 2016 Oscars. “The Oscars continue to captivate fans unlike the other awards shows,” said OnlineGambling.lv spokesman Allan Kingsley Jones. “Movies elicit strong emotions that entice fan interaction throughout the nation and across the world.” Here are their choices:
Three Arab films supported by Sanad, the development and post-production fund of twofour54, have won awards at the 66th annual Berlin International Film Festival held this month in Germany. Mohamed Ben Attia, director of Inhebbek Hedi (Hedi), supported by Sanad in development and post-production, received the Best First Feature Award (50,000 euros) during the official closing ceremony, and the film’s lead actor Majd Mastour received the Silver Bear for Best Actor as part of the official competition awards.
